The campaign of the French and Spanish army, commanded by the Duke
of Berwick, against the Portuguese, in the year 1706, affords a good
lesson on this subject. The two armies made almost the tour of Spain.
They began the campaign near Badajoz, and after manœuvring across both
Castiles, finished it in the kingdoms of Valencia and Murcia. The
Duke of Berwick encamped his army eighty-five times, and although the
campaign passed without a general action, he took about ten thousand
prisoners from the enemy. Marshal Turenne also made a fine campaign of
manœuvre against the Count Montécuculli, in 1675.
The imperial army having made its arrangements to pass the Rhine at
Strasburg, Turenne used all diligence, and, throwing a bridge over the
river near the village of Ottenheim, three leagues below Strasburg, he
crossed with the French army, and encamped close to the little town
of Vilstet, which he occupied. This position covered the bridge of
Strasburg, so that, by this manœuvre, Turenne deprived the enemy of all
approach to that city.
Upon this, Montécuculli made a movement with his whole army,
threatening the bridge at Ottenheim, by which the French received their
provisions from upper Alsace.
As soon as Turenne discovered the design of the enemy, he left a
detachment at Vilstet, and made a rapid march with his whole force
upon the village of Altenheim. This intermediate position between
the two bridges, which he wished to preserve, gave him the advantage
of being able to succor either of these posts before the enemy had
time to carry them. Montécuculli seeing that any successful attack
upon the bridges was not to be expected, resolved to pass the Rhine
below Strasburg, and with this view returned to his first position
at Offenburg. Marshal Turenne, who followed all the movements of the
Austrian army, brought back his army also to Vilstet.
In the meantime, this attempt of the enemy having convinced the French
general of the danger to which his bridge had exposed him, removed it
nearer to that of Strasburg, in order to diminish the extent of ground
he had to defend.
Montécuculli, having commanded the magistrates of Strasburg to collect
materials for a bridge, moved to Scherzheim to receive them; but
Turenne again defeated his projects by taking a position at Freistett,
where he occupied the islands of the Rhine, and immediately constructed
a stockade.
Thus it was that, during the whole of this campaign, Turenne succeeded
in gaining the initiative of the enemy, and obliging him to follow
his movements. He succeeded, also, by a rapid march, in cutting off
Montécuculli from the Town of Offenburg, whence he drew his supplies,
and would no doubt have prevented the Austrian general from effecting
his junction with the corps of Caprara, had not a cannon-shot
terminated this great man’s life.